The Heights — Restaurant in Toledo

I'm not too sure where to start. I work in the service industry in sarasota florida which is a very high end part of florida and so I know a lot about higher end hospitality. And I also like to state that most of the people there last night have also been in the industry and do not like to complain about anything. We're very easing going but when the whole evening is a catastrophe, theres a limitation to being understanding. Witht hat being said, Im not sure whom this message needs to reach but it definitely needs to be looked into immediately. My brother was planning a surprise party for his wife's fortieth birthday party and wanted to do something nice. He was. So excited to show us a restaurant that he thought would be perfect because of the view and "supposedly" a very nice restaurant in the surrounding toledo area. And I will say the view was stunning. But that quite honestly was the only good part of our night and just genuinely being with family. My sister flew in from Florida for this dinner. It was a surprise party so my sister arrived early for the reservation and had to wait 30 minutes for us to arrive. She had no problem doing this however, they were never offered a drink while waiting, when the party did arrive it took an extra 10 minutes to be sat, quite frankly it was obvious they were understaffed and overwhelmed. When we were told to follow the host to the table, she was so busy she went ahead of us to do something and I completely lost her because she wasn't even paying attention to the guests she was suppose to be helping at the moment. Once we got to the table, the people that had been waiting 45 minutes already wanted to get some drinks, should've been no problem. However it took about 5 or 6 minutes for the server to greet us. We could see they were obviously busy so this wasn't too bad. We did place a drink order. And I must say the birthday girl went to order her drink first and the young server cut her off in the middle of her ordering and said "I'm going to start with him first" because my brother was clearly her "seat 1 person" and she was trying to keep the drinks in order. Which absolutely keeping orders and seat numbers right is the correct thing to do. However her "seat one" was my little brother. Usually in a more upscale restaurant you always start with ladies first, especially if it's for an occasion. And that was well documented and was told to her at the very beginning because I was trying to let them know she's the birthday girl and why we were here that evening celebrating and excited to have a wonderful experience for her birthday. My aunt had to scream her drink order across the table, she's 58 years old, instead of the server taking a kind moment to walk over there and politely get an order. Once we placed our drink order we waited, with no exaggeration at least 15 to 20 minutes. We were given water and by the time the drinks arrived everyone's water was almost completely empty. I see our server has another party in the back and was quite obviously taking their order and that's when I realized why they were taking so long. We had to ask some staff member and maybe 3 minutes later another server brought our drinks. I had asked if they had any flavor mojitos and the original server said yes we do. I ordered a strawberry mojito. When the drinks were brought to the table they handed me a Moscow mule. By this time we were all starving and ready to just order. We asked for extra limes with the beer, we needed some napkins and more water and that took almost 7 minutes for just that. So quite frankly I didn't even want to order a different drink so I literally just took this drink because I was afraid the correction would've taken too much time. A guest should never have to feel bad for a server mistake. It should have been handled as if it was a simple mistake and how can I correct it but the server made me feel like I was being "complaintive." I have apparently reached the character limit. I will be writing all my complaints in a part 2...

Let me start by saying I had a bad experience in the summer where my partner and I sat for 20 minutes and never got out 1st drinks so we walked out and left after paying velvet to just dine. Decided to give it another try since it was the place picked for our work Xmas dinner. Paid for our valet which now you have to do everything on app on the phone we paid valet fee and gave a $8 tip for valet (we will come back to this). Got settled into our tight table which barely fit the party of 9. Sat down to ordered our 1st drinks, it did take a little time to get to the table but since it was a party of 9 I figured I'd give a little grace because I myself have been a server and know it can take some time getting the drinks for larger groups. Next we ordered our apps my partner and I ordered The mussels, they were slimy and some were not cooked all the way. I didn't eat much because of this. my partner who hates to complain or be wasteful picked around the mussels to eat the ones that weren't slimy. The mussels inside of the shell were different sizes so some were cooked through and some weren't. Next my partner, and I both ordered the flank steak as our entrée. Before our food came We both ordered another round of drinks. He got an IPA. I got Tito's and tonic nothing too hard to make. Now our food is coming out, first came the pizza's and then the steaks and the rest of the orders was brought out 10 minutes later. In the meantime my partner it bussing our table himself to make room setting the empty glasses and dishes and on the empty table behind us. My steak was so cold that the butter they scooped on top did not melt the entire time my plate was there in front of me. Our steaks were cold!! Again, my partner didn't wanna be wasteful or complain so he ate the steak to which later all I heard was how terrible that meal was and he will never go back to that restaurant ever again!! When she brought the second round of food out, she realized that we still hadn't got our second round of drinks that were ordered before the food came. She is now served our table in two different settings 10 minutes apart from each other...so it's been a Good 20 minutes since we ordered our second round of drinks and still haven't gotten them. By this point, I am beginning to become annoyed by the time We finally get our second rounds of drinks when My partners is halfway through his meal. I stopped eating because I was dissatisfied with my cold steak and I told the waitress to take my steak off the bill because it was cold. She apologized. She was very friendly and she offered us a dessert to make it up. We said that was fine. We would take it to go. We sat another 20 minutes and she never brought the dessert out. When we get the bill she had already gratuities the bill 22% since when is gratuity 22% after that experience, it should've been left up to us on what to tip!!! She was very friendly and nice. She may have gotten more than 22%. Because it is Christmas and because she was friendly and I'm aware some of the issues may have not been her fault but grating my bill for 22% was unacceptable (IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT TO US TO DECIDE ESPECIALLY AFTER THE SERVICE WE HAD) Excellent service does require a gratuity of 22 to 25%. Nothing about our service was excellent!!!! We go to call our valet for the car and the app is now asking for another tip!!!!! My question is, am I supposed to be tipping when dropping off the car and picking it up? I have no problem paying for a level of service, but the heights just isn't worth the hype!!!!! I understand it's a high rise in the sky, beautiful scenery and the decor looks beautiful but the food prices and service just don't add up!!!! I was better off to go to Mancy's or Fifth Street!! We would've gotten a better quality steak and brick oven pizza. We would've gotten a better quality of food without getting taxed with the valet fees! We will never...

I would love to give a five-star review and I would if it was reflective of my second and most recent experience but I cannot deny the first experience. With that being said I want to begin by saying the only reason I returned was because of food it had nothing to do with the service. At my first visit two weeks ago I called in advance because I had never been to this establishment and I asked if you needed a reservation because I saw you could make a reservation on the website. I called around 3:00 in the afternoon and I was told I don't need a reservation and then when I showed up a few hours later the hostess asked if I had a reservation which I said I was told I didn't need one and then she frantically rearranged her entire seating chart so she could accommodate me. I was situated at a table for four and whileit was just myself so I went back to the host stand and said I'll just make this easier and I'll sit at the bar and I was being sincere. They had people waiting and it just didn't feel right for me to take up that space. I don't drink alcohol. And I don't plan to start. Sitting at the bar was anything but convenient for me because what happens in my experience is when I have a bartender wait on me and I order a diet Coke odds are favorable for neglection the rest of the meal. I ordered the Margarita Pizza which is why I eventually returned. It's excellent. It is served on a wooden plate with a handle. Every diner I saw in the restaurant including those to my left and to my right at the bar also had white porcelain plates on which they could place their entree or appetizer. I was not given a plate. I thought well maybe it's just because I'm by myself so they think I can just eat off of whatever the heck this thing is they put the thin crust on. My water was empty and my diet coke remained empty but the guy to the left of me, less than one foot away, ordered a bourbon and coke. Three times. The tip thirsty bartender always checked to see if he needed more as I sat there like an economy gas tank empty yet savoring the margarita sauce with a little bit of mozzarella hoping I didn't get a wood chipping lodged in my gums. When I returned a week later I was greeted by a fabulous hostess... Kylie. I approached the stand waiting to be seated. After only 30 seconds Kylie appeared and apologized that she wasn't there to greet me because she was taking care of a to-go order. No apology was needed whatsoever and she was absolutely delightful setting the tone for an extraordinary evening. My server was Phil who was excellent, enthusiastic, energetic, and I would think and hope that he is the leader who would train new upcoming employees on the wait staff. After Kylie sat me, within 15 minutes I didn't think I could stay because there was a sound that resembled an awful screeching whistling sound. It was like nails on a chalkboard. I walked to the other end of the restaurant to find Phil and told him I would pay him but I had to leave. This with after I had already ordered and I didn't want them to have to eat the cost. Phil moved me immediately to the other end of the restaurant carrying plates and silverware (yeah I got a plate this time. I really did). It turns out that the air conditioning system was on the brink and it's situated in such a way that the sound was coming right towards the area where I was previously seated. Problem solved and I wouldn't be worried about that sound anymore because it was just a glitch for that one evening. So there you have it. Phil and Kylie and the plate saved the day. I'm grateful to...